PICATINNY ARSENAL, N.J. -- Shots fired, loud explosions and people running off a bus shouting, "They are going to start killing hostages every two minutes!"
These sights and sounds made the Aug. 20 full-scale lifelike simulation of an active shooter scenario seem real. However, it was a "Mock Active Shooter/Terrorist Drill," conducted by the West Orange Police Department in conjunction with county, municipal, state and federal law enforcement agencies.
This is the third drill that the West Orange police has done in cooperation with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Picatinny Arsenal. For the first time, the department was able to enlist the aid of the FBI, to the extent that the department was able to turn over a scene to the FBI.
The Aug. 20 event served as a training exercise to help law enforcement officials assess strengths and weaknesses in reacting to a possible terrorist attack.
The Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center (ARDEC) and Picatinny Arsenal personnel supported in the West Orange exercise in two ways.
"The primary role is that of collecting data that can be used during and after the exercise for evaluation and training," said Tanya Fogg, a Program Support Specialist with ARDEC. "The second role is to provide assessment of technologies that could assist law enforcement or first responders in the conduct of their missions."
Several technologies were used that could help increase situational awareness for the police, as well as potentially result in a faster response time to the threat. The exercise was sponsored by the DHS Science and Technology (S&T) Directorate through an interagency agreement. DHS S&T funded approximately $250,000 for both ARDEC and the West Orange police.
There were two parts to the drill. One part occurred on a bus while the other took place inside a synagogue.
The simulated drill began with a call to the West Orange police regarding an accident in which a pedestrian was hit by a bus. A New York City bus was used for the exercise.
Once officers arrived on scene, they realized the information they first received was wrong. Instead, it was a terrorist incident involving hostages on the bus. From that point, the situation escalated.
ACTIVE SHOOTER SIMULATION DRILL
First, the terrorists on the bus, one with a rifle and the other with a suicide vest, "killed" the bus driver by slitting his throat and tossing him off the bus.
One of the terrorists on the bus then called the West Orange Police Communications Department, while the leader and other terrorists inside the temple flooded the department with more calls to overload the department employees and phone lines.
The terrorists, who were speaking in Arabic, were making demands for the release of prisoners from Guantanamo Bay. They threatened to start killing hostages if their demands were not met.
They then began acting out their threat. They used blanks on the bus, for the sound effect to be heard outside. And, they started pulling victims out of the bus, one at a time, to be killed in front of law enforcement.
The local police department came with other departments to try to handle the situation on the bus. There were multiple hostages being killed by the terrorists, and also simulated suicide vests that would actually expel powder.
On the inside, there were people who spoke Arabic language contacting the communication desk so that the West Orange police could get experience if a real-life situation were to occur.
When the police got on scene, there were 12 actors who appeared to be dead.
Inside the synagogue were three terrorists, one with a suicide vest and two with rifles.
The scenario was intended to simulate a real-life situation in which the police would know about all the events that are occurring.
In the end, all the terrorists were neutralized. Two killed themselves with suicide vests and the other three were shot and killed by officers.
ARDEC'S ROLE IN ANALYZING DATA
Picatinny personnel provided planning, oversight and management of the technical efforts. The New Equipment Training (NET) Team and Target Behavioral Response Lab (TBRL) provided the technical support with engineers, scientists and technicians.
The NET team provides expertise typically used in capturing and documenting Soldiers' procedures and tactics for Soldier training.
The TBRL has technical expertise in the analysis of individual, squad and crowd behavior, typically used in the evaluation of various force-protection technologies for the military. In the case of the West Orange simulation, the technologies were used to evaluate law enforcement individual and team performance under stress.
There were approximately 50 cameras placed throughout the synagogue and on the bus, including areas such as the entrance, front of synagogue, lobby, sanctuary, and multipurpose room.
The data collected will be analyzed according to the Homeland Security Exercise Evaluation Program guidebook, which is provided by the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness.
Recordings will be analyzed by the trainers and behavioral research scientists at Picatinny. The results will be used to assess the ability of the West Orange police and other participants to meet exercise objectives and capabilities, as well as to suggest areas for improvement and corrective actions.
"Participation in active shooter drills like this one has a great benefit to the arsenal for multiple reasons," said Fogg. "One of which is military installations can be just as vulnerable to active shooter events as was witnessed during the incident that took place at Fort Hood several years ago."
The arsenal's participation in these drills develops and enhances the capabilities of Army scientists to understand how Soldier squads can be studied to improve Soldier performance.
Participation in these drills also trains arsenal researchers to gather data in realistic conditions outside of a controlled laboratory setting.
Aside from Fogg, other Picatinny personnel involved in planning for the West Orange crisis scenario were Gladstone Reid, John Riedener, Dietz Wortmann and Bob Tighe.
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